So my group of Tier 1 Bravos (with weak hold to boot) just crossed The Hive in a really major way which put them at -2 status – based on their actions they might have already hit -3, but my thinking was that The Hive saw them more as a pest/nuisance than someone to go to war with. Now, though, they’ve hit a major Hive lotus destillery/import place, taken everything, killed like a dozen of their mercenaries, and taken all their slaves to come work for them. We then roll the entanglement Show of Force (A faction with whom you have a negative status makes a play against your holdings. Give them 1 claim or go to war (drop to -3 status).) which just seemed too perfect for all of us. All this is fine, and we’re all super excited for this war, even though all that the PC’s have worked for might come crashing down. I’m writing just to get some outisde input on how a secretive network like The Hive might go about destroying their enemies (which of course will vary between groups and their “versions” of the faction) and hear if anyone else has any experience using them. I have my own ideas, but other stuff would be great.
So my group of Tier 1 Bravos (with weak hold to boot) just crossed The Hive in a really major way which put them at…
So my group of Tier 1 Bravos (with weak hold to boot) just crossed The Hive in a really major way which put them at…
By proxy.
Extra sneaky proxy: someone (secretly working for the Hive) hires the crew for a job that turns out to basically be a suicide mission.
Will Scott Keep in mind that the book tells you to stay away from the “Client betrays you and refuses to pay you” trope.
Yeah, that trope is usually pretty bad. But if you can do it well, go for it.
Pressure the crew’s vice purveyors to refuse business. Hell, depending on the vices involved, the purveyors might BE Hive. I see the Hive as being willing to play a longer game, starving out the crew and whittling at them. Also, because they’re basically business-oriented, the crew could be useful if they can be brought to heel, right? Maybe make an example of one of them, but under new management the PCs’ crew has shown itself to be effective.
I am not suggesting the client refuses to pay you, I am suggesting the client leads you directly into an abattoir. This should become obvious pretty soon after the engagement roll. It’s a “reverse score” where the crew is on the defensive the whole time — and if they get out alive, that’s a whopping 4 rep, because even the Hive couldn’t touch them. Sometimes the fiction demands fuckery.
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The Hive has a lot of enemies in the underworld, but they do have internal mercenaries led by Karth Orris. You could always just go for the “they firebomb your lair while you’re asleep – do you want to roll a resistance?” plan.